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Introduction
From Occupy Wall Street to Arab Spring, much has been discussed about the role of social media in the exchange of information, persuasion, mobilization, and distribution of otherwise disconnected resources. Not just an information platform, scholars such as Juris (2012) have argued for its influence on the nature of interactions between institutions, governments, and people. Supporting this reasoning is Castells' (2001) description of "networked social movement," where networks of social activists are more prominent, and social movements are characterized by globally connected computer networks. Consistent with Castells' claims, Bennett (2012) suggested that individuals are using social media for "individualized collective action," and such individual usage influences collective action. Unlike traditional collective action which relies very much on having a shared goal and centralized coordination (Olson, 1965), Bennett (2012) argued that individuals now use social media for connective action, which is based on individualized self-expression in the context of loose online social networks. In other words, contemporary collective action can be motivated by individual goals and motivations, beyond simply having a shared goal.
In the case of Singapore, the widely held perception that there is generally a low level of civic engagement is now challenged. The idea that such "slacktivism" is only useful in making participants feel good about themselves (Morozov, 2009), and may not culminate into true action is challenged with the rise of social movements such as the Pink Dot (Mark, 2012), a social movement which began in 2009 in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Singapore. This was perhaps the first large-scale social movement organized since the relaxation of rules for demonstrations at Hong Lim Park[1] in 2008. Since Pink Dot, there have been ongoing protests and social movements at Hong Lim Park, although somewhat sporadic both in terms of attendance as well as discourse on the internet about each event. In 2013, however, Hong Lim Park saw its first massive protest.
In response to the burgeoning population in Singapore especially in the last decade or so, the state drafted a population white paper with the intention to provide mid to long term strategies to address population growth, projected to be 6.9 million by 2030, 50 percent of which would be made up of foreigners. The Population White...